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“The Atlantic Charter.” FDR Presidential Library & Museum,
https://www.fdrlibrary.org/atlantic-charter.

“The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (U.S.
National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-atomic-bombings-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki.htm.

“Francisco Franco: Dictator of Spain.” YouTube, YouTube, 13.
Mar. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfuzrRfqsOw.

“Japanese-American Incarceration during World War II.”
National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation.

“USS Arizona - Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack.”
USS Arizona - Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/p/pearl-harbor-survivor-reports/uss-arizona.html.

“World War II: D-Day, the Invasion of Normandy.” World War
II: D-Day, The Invasion of Normandy | Eisenhower Presidential Library, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/world-war-ii-d-day-invasion-normandy.

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Hitler had a desire to kill all Jews, he imposed the “final solution”, it was genocide for the Jews. And during the time of him killing all the Jews he kills all the enemies too. The Jews we also sent to concentration camps, but not only did the Jews get sent to camps during the war but Japanese Americans were sent in camps too. Both camps starved them which slowly killed them and put them to work. Japanese Americans were in war with many islands. But after a few years they defeated everyone.

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World War II led to the opening of millions of jobs in the U.S.  Workers were needed for war plants, in the military, and for government agencies. In the long term, the war also led to the creation of the United Nations, an encourage world peace as a common goal amongst many countries in the world.

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A victim of the bombing and its radiation 

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The Manhattan Project and Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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The Manhattan Project and Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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During WWII, numerous atomic weapons were created by the U.S. government. J. Robert Oppenheimer directed the Manhattan Project, the “best kept secret of the war.” It was the creation of an atomic bomb which was tested in an empty desert in New Mexico. On August 6th, the U.S. released an atomic bomb nicknamed Little Boy over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, destroying the city. When Japanese leaders refused to give in, another bomb nicknamed Fat Man was dropped over the city of Nagasaki, killing roughly 200,000 people from the radiation of the bomb. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito “couldn’t bear to see his people suffer,” so he surrendered the war.

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In 1941, the Japanese navy and Air Force attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States’ biggest Pacific naval base. 21 American ships and over 300 American aircrafts were damaged, and thousands of Americans were killed. This was devastating to the American military because so much of their equipment and soldiers were gone. America was also now fighting on two different fronts. President Roosevelt declared war on Japan, and Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.

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Lieutenant Commander S. G. Fuqua wrote as follows:

I was in the ward room eating breakfast about 0755 when a short signal on the ship's air raid alarm was made. I immediately went to the phone and called the Officer-of-the-Deck to sound general quarters and then shortly thereafter ran up to the starboard side of the quarter deck to see if he had received word. On coming out of the ward room hatch on the port side, I saw a Japanese plane go by, the machine guns firing, at an altitude of about 100 feet. As I was running forward on the starboard side of the quarter deck, approximately by the starboard gangway, I was apparently knocked out by the blast of a bomb which I learned later had struck the face plate of #4 turret on the starboard side and had glanced off and gone through the deck just forward of the captain's hatch, penetrating the decks and exploding on the third deck. When I came to and got up off the deck, the ship was a mass of flames amidships on the boat deck and the deck aft was awash to about frame 90. The anti-aircraft battery and machine guns apparently were still firing at this time. Some of the Arizona boats had pulled clear of the oil and were lying off the stern.

At this time I attempted, with the assistance of the crews of #2 and #4 turrets to put out the fire which was coming from the boat deck and which had extended to the quarter deck. There was no water on the fire mains. However, about 14 C02s were obtained that were stowed on the port side and held the flames back from the quarter deck enabling us to pick up wounded who were running down the boat deck out of the flames. I placed about 70 wounded and injured in the boats which had been picked up off the deck aft and landed them at the Ford Island landing. This was completed about 0900 or 0930. Not knowing whether the Captain or the Admiral had ever reached the bridge, I had the Captain's hatch opened up, immediately after I came to, and sent officers Ensign G. B. Lennig, USNR. and Ensign J. D. Miller, USN down to search the Captain's and Admirals cabins to see if they were there. By this time the Captain's cabin and Admiral's cabin were about waist deep in water. A search of the two cabins revealed that the Admiral and Captain were not there. Knowing that they were on board I assume that they had proceeded to the bridge. All personnel but 3 or 4 men, turrets #3 and #4, were saved.

About 0900, seeing that all guns of the anti-aircraft and secondary battery were out of action and that the ship could not possibly be saved, I ordered all hands to abandon ship.

From information received from other personnel on board, a bomb had struck the forecastle, just about the time the air raid siren sounded at 0755. A short interval thereafter there was a terrific explosion on the forecastle, apparently from the bomb penetrating the magazine. Approximately 30 seconds later a bomb hit the boat deck, apparently just forward of the stack, one went down the stack, and one hit the face plate of #4 turret indirectly. The commanding officer of the USS. Vestal stated that 2 torpedoes passed under his vessel which was secured alongside the Arizona, and struck the Arizona.

The first attack occurred about 0755. I saw approximately 15 torpedo planes which had come in to the attack from the direction of the Navy Yard. These planes also strafed the ship after releasing their torpedoes. Shortly thereafter there was a dive bomber and strafing attack of about 30 planes. This attack was very determined, planes diving within 500 feet before releasing bombs, about 0900. There were about twelve planes in flight that I saw.

The personnel of the anti-aircraft and machine gun batteries on the Arizona lived up to the best traditions of the Navy. I could hear guns firing on the ship long after the boat deck was a mass of flames. I can not single out one individual who stood out in acts of heroism above the others as all of the personnel under my supervision conducted themselves with the greatest heroism and bravery.

Radioman's Mate Third Class, G. H. Lane wrote as follows:

When the attack started on December 7, 1941, it was just before 0800 and I was on the forecastle of the USS. Arizona. I saw torpedo planes, with the rising sun insignia under their wings, attacking ships ahead of us. General alarm was then sounded and we were all told to seek cover. I went aft to the aviation workshop and helped wake men who were still sleeping there and closed battle ports in the optical shop. The order came for all hands not assigned to anti-aircraft batteries to go to the third deck. I started for the third deck but just then General Quarters was sounded. I came back and started for my General Quarters station which is a repair station (patrol five). We were hit aft and also in one or two other places on the ship. Word came, "Fire in the Executive Officer's Office." Hurst, Bruns, Wentzlaff, and I manned a fire hose and went on the quarterdeck to connect it and fight the fire aft on the quarterdeck where the bomb had lilt us. Lieutenant Commander Fuqua was at his post on the quarterdeck where the bomb had hit us, I was on the nozzle end of the hose and told Hurst and Bruns to turn on the water. They did, but no water came. I turned around to see if the hose had any kinks in it and at that time there was an explosion which knocked me off the ship. I was taken aboard the Nevada where I was brought to my senses in a casemate (no. 3). I had been in the water because I was soaked with oil. The Nevada was underway and I helped handle powder for the 5 inch gun. When the Nevada was hit in the dry dock channel, the gun was put out and the ship was afire. I helped get wounded aft and fought fire until I was choked by smoke and fumes. They sent me from the Nevada to the Solace where I was put to bed and cuts and bruises treated. I couldn't see either until my eyes were washed out and treated. I was released from the Solace December 10, and was sent to Receiving Barracks where Mr. Fuqua told me to rejoin the aviation unit at Ford Island. I saw no signs of fear on the ship. Everyone was surprised and pretty mad.

Corporal B. C. Nightingale of the U.S. Marine Corps wrote as follows:

At approximately eight o'clock on the morning of December 7, 1941, I was leaving the breakfast table when the ship's siren for air defense sounded. Having no anti-aircraft battle station, I paid little attention to it. Suddenly I heard an explosion. I ran to the port door leading to the quarter deck and saw a bomb strike a barge of some sort alongside the Nevada, or in that vicinity. The marine color guard came in at this point saying we were being attacked. I could distinctly hear machine gun fire. I believe at this point our anti-aircraft battery opened up. We stood around awaiting orders of some kind. General Quarters sounded and I started for my battle station in secondary aft. As I passed through casement nine I noted the gun was manned and being trained out. The men seemed extremely calm and collected. I reached the boat deck and our anti-aircraft guns were in full action, firing very rapidly. I was about three quarters of the way to the first platform on the mast when it seemed as though a bomb struck our quarterdeck. I could hear shrapnel or fragments whistling past me. As soon as I reached the first platform, I saw Second Lieutenant Simonsen lying on his back with blood on his shirt front. I bent over him and taking him by the shoulders asked if there was anything I could do. He was dead, or so nearly so that speech was impossible. Seeing there was nothing I could do for the Lieutenant, I continued to my battle station.

When I arrived in secondary aft I reported to Major Shapley that Mr. Simonson had been hit and there was nothing to be done for him. There was a lot of talking going on and I shouted for silence which came immediately. I had only been there a short time when a terrible explosion caused the ship to shake violently. I looked at the boat deck and everything seemed aflame forward of the mainmast. I reported to the Major that the ship was aflame, which was rather needless, and after looking about, the Major ordered us to leave. I was the last man to leave secondary aft because I looked around and there was no one left. I followed the Major down the port side of the tripod mast. The railings, as we ascended, were very hot and as we reached the boat deck I noted that it was torn up and burned. The bodies of the dead were thick, and badly burned men were heading for the quarterdeck, only to fall apparently dead or badly wounded. The Major and I went between No. 3 and No. 4 turret to the starboard side and found Lieutenant Commander Fuqua ordering the men over the side and assisting the wounded. He seemed exceptionally calm and the Major stopped and they talked for a moment. Charred bodies were everywhere.

I made my way to the quay and started to remove my shoes when I suddenly found myself in the water. I think the concussion of a bomb threw me in. I started swimming for the pipe line which was about one hundred and fifty feet away. I was about half way when my strength gave out entirely. My clothes and shocked condition sapped my strength, and I was about to go under when Major Shapley started to swim by, and seeing my distress, grasped my shirt and told me to hang to his shoulders while be swam in. We were perhaps twenty-five feet from the pipe line when the Major's strength gave out and I saw he was floundering, so I loosened my grip on him and told him to make it alone. He stopped and grabbed me by the shirt and refused to let go. I would have drowned but for the Major. We finally reached the beach where a marine directed us to a bomb shelter, where I was given dry clothes and a place to rest.

Aviation Machinists Mate, First Class D. A. Graham wrote as follows:

On hearing the explosions and gun reports, Wentzlaff, E., A.O.M.2/c, came in saying we were being attacked and bombed by Jap planes. The air raid siren sounded, followed by the General Quarters alarm. I stepped outside the shop and started to my general quarters station on the quarterdeck, shouting "Let's go."

It seemed as though the magazines forward blew up while we were hooking up the fire hose, as the noise was followed by an awful "swish' and hot air blew out of the compartments, There had been bomb hits at the first start and yellowish smoke was pouring out of the hatches from below deck. There were lots of men coming out on the quarterdeck with every stitch of clothing and shoes blown off, painfully burned and shocked. Mr. Fuqua was the senior officer on deck and set an example for the men by being unperturbed, calm, cool, and collected, exemplifying the courage and traditions of an officer under fire. It seemed like the men painfully burned, shocked, and dazed, became inspired and took things in stride, seeing Mr. Fuqua, so unconcerned about the bombing and strafing, standing on the quarterdeck. There was no "going to pieces" or "growing panicky" noticeable, and he directed the moving of the wounded and burned men who were on the quarterdeck to the motor launches and boats. He gave orders to get the life rafts on #3 barbette down, supervised the loading of the wounded and burned casualties, assisted by Ensign J. D. Miller who set a very good example for a younger officer by being cool, calm, and collected.

The signal gang, quartermasters, and all hands on the bridge went up-- as the signal men were trying to put out a fire in the signal rack and grabbing signal flags out to hoist a signal, the whole bridge went up, flames enveloping and obscuring them from view as the flames shot upward twice as high as the tops. A bomb hit on the starboard side of the after 5 inch guns and anti-aircraft gun, and got most of the marine crew and anti-aircraft crews. It seemed as though one bomb hit the port after the anti-aircraft crew and came down through the casemate and Executive Officer's office.

After the big explosion and "swish," the men painfully burned and wounded, dazed beyond comprehension, came out on the quarterdeck. I had to stop some of them from entering the flames later on and directed them over to the starboard side of the deck to the gangway for embarking, encouraging them to be calm.

The Vestal, tied up alongside the port side, did not seem to get hit hard and started to get underway, so I stood by to cast off lines on the quarterdeck portside and cast off their bow lines as the Lieutenant Commander on her wanted to save the line to tie up to one of the buoys. Assisted by a seaman from #4 turret, we rendered the bow line around and cast her off. Then getting the small life raft on #3 turret barbette port side off and over the port stern, the water and oil being on deck, and the ship settling fast, we got orders to embark in the motor boat at the starboard stern quarter, Lieutenant Commander Fuqua and a few others still being aboard. We landed at BOQ landing, Ford Island. Smith, B.M.2c, USN, boat coxswain, made many trips for wounded and burned men being delivered by Lieutenant Commander Fuqua, still on board.

Courage and performance of all hands was of the highest order imaginable, especially being handicapped by adverse conditions and shipmates being blown up alongside them. There was no disorder nor tendency to run around in confusion. The coolness and calm manner of Lieutenant Commander Fuqua and Ensign J. D. Miller instilled confidence in the surviving crew.

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USS Arizona - Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack

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USS Arizona Lieutenant Commander S. G. Fuqua wrote as follows: I was in the ward room eating breakfast about 0755 when a short signal on the ship's air raid alarm was made. I immediately went to the phone and called the Officer-of-the-Deck to sound general quarters and then shortly thereafter ran up to the starboard side of the quarter deck to see if he had received word.

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The Allie’s began the “island hopping” so that they didn’t attack the other islands. This new method used combinations of the land, sea, and Air Force to capture islands while avoiding the enemy forces. With this method they won each island from the Japanese which allowed them to get closer to Japan. Guadalcanal wanted to succeed without risky invasions. During the island hopping the Japanese strongholds we’re isolated and the defenders were offer right weaken from starvation and death.

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Women in the Military and Military Production

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Women in the Military and Military Production

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Marshall pushed for the formation of a Women’s Auxiliary Army Corp (WAAC) to expand the military. The bill for WAAC became law on May 15, 1942. Few of the benefits that Army men received were not given to the women until July 1943 when they dropped the “auxiliary” status and gave them full U.S Army benefits. The women (WAC) worked as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, pilots, and almost every duty that doesn’t involve direct combat. The first women the join Women Air-force Service Pilots (WASP) was Cornelia Fort, she witnessed the bobbing of Pearl Harbor from the air.

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Hitler desired to get rid of Jews in Europe, caused him to impose the “Final Solution”- a policy of genocide. During this time the Nazis condemned the Jews to slavery and death. He also eliminated all the enemies the helped the Jews- Gypsies, Freemasons, Jehovah Witnesses, etc. Jews were forced to relocate to concentration camps, it was designed for the nazis to use the Jews to warehouse other “undesirables”. The life on the camp was a cycle of hunger, humiliation, and work that almost always ended in death.

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Alina Pougatch and Emily Jagielski

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After the end of WWII, Allied leaders met and discussed their intentions for lasting world peace. After 2 months of meeting, they came to an agreement in the form of a charter. On October 24th, 1945, China, France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the U.S., and other Allies became a part of the United Nations (UN). They created the Universal Declaration of  Human Rights to prevent another tragedy like the Holocaust and to declare equal rights of human beings. The U.S. and the Soviet Union were the two most powerful nations in the world and ironically, them both being in the UN only led to debates and competition between them.

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During the battle of Leyte Gulf the Japanese there their entire fleet into battle. The new tactic was called the kamikaze, the Japanese pilots crash their bomb-landed planes into allied ships. They sunk 16 ships and damaged 80 ships in the Philippines using the tactic. Vice Admiral Charles Brown viewed this as “a strange mixture of respect and pity”. The battle of the Leyte Gulf was a disaster for Japan.

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General Dwight D. Eisenhower coordinated “Operation Overlord” - the Allied invasion of Normandy. To throw off the Germans, the Allies created a fake army and sent fake radio messages suggesting an attack on the port of Calais. Hitler sent a large army to “defend” the French port and on June 6th, 1944, D-Day began. The Allies attacked from the air and the sea. The Germans retaliated by attacking spots like Omaha Beach.

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Roosevelt’s draft of the Atlantic Charter

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U.S. President Roosevelt and Great Britain’s prime minister Churchill convened on the USS Augusta battleship to discuss their goals for war. Both leaders agreed on ideas of self determination, freedom from fear, freedom of the seas, and nations working together on economics and security. This  agreement was known as the Atlantic Charter, and is seen as the foundation of “A Declaration of the United Nations.” The United Nations started as a collection of 26 Allies working to defeat the Axis powers of WWII, and ended up with 47 Allied nations in total.

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Hitler called his top officials to a meeting that was held in Wannsee, near Berlin. In the meeting they all agreed on a new phase of mass murder because the overworking, starvation, beatings, and bullets did not kill the Jews fast enough to satisfy the nazis. They wanted to add poison gas to murder all the Jews faster. The Germans built 6 death camps in Poland and several huge chambers in each that could fit 12,000 people. One of the largest camps was Auschwitz. When the Jews walked in the camp, doctors directing them to work if strong enough or to death if to weak.

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Adolf Hitler was determined to take as much land surrounding Germany as he could to satisfy his wishes to have control over valuable resources and land for Germans to live on. Since many Germans lived in Austria, he was able to take control of that land with very little resistance. In order to take control of his next piece of land, Hitler created propaganda and fake news about Czechoslovakia murdering Germans who lived there. He then met with leaders of France and Great Britain, who had earlier promised to protect  Czechoslovakia, and convinced them that if they allowed him to take Sudetenland, he would stop trying to take over more land. Trying their best to avoid war and trusting Hitler’s promises, Édouard Daladier and Neville Chamberlain agreed over to hand over Sudetenland to Hitler. By doing so, Chamberlain and Daladier chose a policy of appeasement, pleasing and satisfying Hitler by breaking the honor they held to Czechoslovakia. Winston Churchill strongly disagreed with this decision and stated that Britain and France chose dropping their principles over going to war, but ultimately, their decision will lead to war either way.

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In 1936, General Francisco Franco led and army to overthrow the Spanish republic government and institute a fascist way of life. This inspired revolts all over Spain and also caused Americans to create the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and travel to Spain to support the Spanish republic. Hitler and Mussolini supported he fascist armies in Spain by sending supplies and weapons, and this strengthened the relationship between Germany and Italy, creating the Rome - Berlin Axis. In 1939, Franco’s army won the Spanish Civil War and he became a totalitarian, fascist dictator.

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After the cold winter of 1941 in the Soviet Union, Hitler was ready to take over Stalingrad, Stalin’s namesake city which was also a huge industrial center. German soldiers were overly confident in how easy it would be for them to take over this city. Soviet officers saw abandoning the city as the only option to get out of this situation, but Stalin refused to give up Stalingrad without a fight. Once the next winter came by, the Soviets were able to surround the Germans and trap them in Stalingrad with no path to supplies, forcing them to surrender. Although millions of Soviet soldiers died in this battle, the victory marked a turning point for the Allies in this World War.

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After Pearl Harbor the government feared that German, Italian, and Japanese would want to sabotage in order to help the enemy. The Italians and Germans that immigrated to the U.S were considered “enemy aliens”. Many Germans and Italians were sent to prison but Japanese had something worst. The Japanese were relocated to an internment camp. In February 1942, president Roosevelt signed the executive order 9066, it was a removal of all Japanese ancestry in California, Oregon, Arizona, and parts of Washington. He also announced that this step was necessary for national security. Most of the people that were sent to the “relocation centers” were nisei, or Japanese people that were born in the U.S. But after many fights that the Japanese lost against the government, president Ronald Reagan signed the bill that promised $20,000 to every Japanese American that was sent to a relocation camp. And when the money was sent, George bush added a letter, “We can never fully right the wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustice were done to Japanese Americans during World War 2.”

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In his speech to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was "a date which will live in infamy." The attack launched the United States fully into the two theaters of World War II - Europe and the Pacific. Prior to Pearl Harbor, the United States had been involved in a non-combat role, through the Lend-Lease Program that supplied England, China, Russia, and other anti-fascist countries of Europe with munitions.

The attack on Pearl Harbor also launched a rash of fear about national security, especially on the West Coast. In February 1942, just two months later, President Roosevelt, as commander-in-chief, issued Executive Order 9066 that resulted in the internment of Japanese Americans. The order authorized the Secretary of War and military commanders to evacuate all persons deemed a threat from the West Coast to internment camps, that the government called "relocation centers," further inland. Read more...

Primary Sources
Links go to DocsTeach, the online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives.
Teaching Activity

Additional Background Information

Prior to the outbreak of World War II, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had identified German, Italian, and Japanese aliens who were suspected of being potential enemy agents; and they were kept under surveillance. Following the attack at Pearl Harbor, government suspicion arose not only around aliens who came from enemy nations, but around all persons of Japanese descent, whether foreign born ( issei) or American citizens ( nisei). During congressional committee hearings, representatives of the Department of Justice raised logistical, constitutional, and ethical objections. Regardless, the task was turned over to the U.S. Army as a security matter.

The entire West Coast was deemed a military area and was divided into military zones. Executive Order 9066 authorized military commanders to exclude civilians from military areas. Although the language of the order did not specify any ethnic group, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt of the Western Defense Command proceeded to announce curfews that included only Japanese Americans. Next, he encouraged voluntary evacuation by Japanese Americans from a limited number of areas; about seven percent of the total Japanese American population in these areas complied.

On March 29, 1942, under the authority of the executive order, DeWitt issued Public Proclamation No. 4, which began the forced evacuation and detention of Japanese-American West Coast residents on a 48-hour notice. Only a few days prior to the proclamation, on March 21, Congress had passed Public Law 503, which made violation of Executive Order 9066 a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Because of the perception of "public danger," all Japanese Americans within varied distances from the Pacific coast were targeted. Unless they were able to dispose of or make arrangements for care of their property within a few days, their homes, farms, businesses, and most of their private belongings were lost forever.

From the end of March to August, approximately 112,000 persons were sent to "assembly centers" - often racetracks or fairgrounds - where they waited and were tagged to indicate the location of a long-term "relocation center" that would be their home for the rest of the war. Nearly 70,000 of the evacuees were American citizens. There were no charges of disloyalty against any of these citizens, nor was there any vehicle by which they could appeal their loss of property and personal liberty.

"Relocation centers" were situated many miles inland, often in remote and desolate locales. Sites included Tule Lake and Manzanar in California; Gila River and Poston in Arizona; Jerome and Rohwer in Arkansas, Minidoka in Idaho; Topaz in Utah; Heart Mountain in Wyoming; and Granada in Colorado. (Incarceration rates were significantly lower in the territory of Hawaii, where Japanese Americans made up over one-third of the population and their labor was needed to sustain the economy. However, martial law had been declared in Hawaii immediately following the Pearl Harbor attack, and the Army issued hundreds of military orders, some applicable only to persons of Japanese ancestry.)

In the "relocation centers" (also called "internment camps"), four or five families, with their sparse collections of clothing and possessions, shared tar-papered army-style barracks. Most lived in these conditions for nearly three years or more until the end of the war. Gradually some insulation was added to the barracks and lightweight partitions were added to make them a little more comfortable and somewhat private. Life took on some familiar routines of socializing and school. However, eating in common facilities, using shared restrooms, and having limited opportunities for work interrupted other social and cultural patterns. Persons who resisted were sent to a special camp at Tule Lake, CA, where dissidents were housed.

In 1943 and 1944, the government assembled a combat unit of Japanese Americans for the European theater. It became the 442d Regimental Combat Team and gained fame as the most highly decorated of World War II. Their military record bespoke their patriotism.

As the war drew to a close, "internment camps" were slowly evacuated. While some persons of Japanese ancestry returned to their hometowns, others sought new surroundings. For example, the Japanese-American community of Tacoma, WA, had been sent to three different centers; only 30 percent returned to Tacoma after the war. Japanese Americans from Fresno had gone to Manzanar; 80 percent returned to their hometown.

The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II sparked constitutional and political debate. During this period, three Japanese-American citizens challenged the constitutionality of the forced relocation and curfew orders through legal actions: Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Mitsuye Endo. Hirabayashi and Korematsu received negative judgments; but Mitsuye Endo, after a lengthy battle through lesser courts, was determined to be "loyal" and allowed to leave the Topaz, Utah, facility.

Justice Murphy of the Supreme Court expressed the following opinion in Ex parte Mitsuye Endo:

I join in the opinion of the Court, but I am of the view that detention in Relocation Centers of persons of Japanese ancestry regardless of loyalty is not only unauthorized by Congress or the Executive but is another example of the unconstitutional resort to racism inherent in the entire evacuation program. As stated more fully in my dissenting opinion in Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 , 65 S.Ct. 193, racial discrimination of this nature bears no reasonable relation to military necessity and is utterly foreign to the ideals and traditions of the American people.

In 1988, Congress passed, and President Reagan signed, Public Law 100-383 - the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 - that acknowledged the injustice of "internment," apologized for it, and provided a $20,000 cash payment to each person who was incarcerated.

One of the most stunning ironies in this episode of denied civil liberties was articulated by an internee who, when told that Japanese Americans were put in those camps for their own protection, countered "If we were put there for our protection, why were the guns at the guard towers pointed inward, instead of outward?"

A note on terminology: The historical primary source documents included on this page reflect the terminology that the government used at the time, such as alien, evacuation, relocation, relocation centers, internment, and Japanese (as opposed to Japanese American).
Materials created by the National Archives and Records Administration are in the public domain.

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Japanese-American Incarceration During World War II

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In his speech to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was "a date which will live in infamy." The attack launched the United States fully into the two theaters of World War II - Europe and the Pacific.